"It takes me just a few minutes to reach the factory either on foot or by car,” said Xiao Rui, a young man born in 1990s. “Working here, I can earn 5,000 yuan monthly, and I’m happy to see my family every day.”

Born in an impoverished household in central Yunnan’s Fuyuan County, Xiao Rui used to be a migrant worker away from home all year round, but he returned to his hometown in 2016 to work in the Fuyuan industrial park near his home. 

The Fuyuan industrial park covers 37.36 square kilometers, focusing on metallurgy, equipment manufacturing and chemical engineering. With an output value of 12.63 billion yuan in 2019, the industrial park now houses 46 businesses that employ 10,672. Among them, many are returned farmers like Xiao Rui. 

Xiao Rui works for a branch of Jinfei Group, which was set up in the park at the end of 2015. “We chose to have presence in Fuyuan for the raw materials, rich labor force, and location advantages here,” said Chen Jingao, chairman of the Yunnan Jinfei Wheel Manufacturing. 

In the past years, the company has invested 2 billion yuan in building 5 factories in Fuyuan. Making car wheels, motorcycle hubs, and auto gearboxes, the Jinfei branch in Fuyuan exported its products to India, Vietnam, Thailand and other countries. Now the branch has 3,000 employees, most of whom come from nearby villages. 

Four years on, Chen Jingao has witnessed development of the industrial park and changes in the villagers’ life. "Back in 2015, this area was barren, but now it is packed with factories,” recalled Chen. “Few farmers owned a motorcycle then, but now many drive to work.” In the parking areas, car arrays of various brands are highly visible. 

While offering opportunities for local farmers to work near their homes, the factories also enjoys a stable labor force. "Our employees live nearby, and the factories have resumed production early," said Chen Jingao, adding factories in east China’s Zhejiang have trouble in recruit workers due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. 

With improved facilities in the industrial park, Chen Jingao has confidence in the firm’s future. "We aim to run a 'century-old enterprise' here, so that villagers can enjoy easy and stable employment." 

Xiao Rui, a foreman in Chen’s factory now, also has a goal. "Leading 22 fellow workers who are mostly retuned famers in Fuyuan, I’ll spare no effort to create a good working environment, so that we can all earn a decent income in our hometown, without migrating to and fro."

Reporting by Nian Xinhong and Zhao Pufan (Xinhua Net); trans-editing by Wang Shixue